Poll:Are IM acronyms and 'Netspeak' hurting the English language?From funny Cingular commercials to center stage on the morning news programs, the IM acronyms are everywhere.
Yes | No | Undecided | View Results
The unofficial language of IM, webspeak is defined as the series of acronyms, shorthand and homophone phrases that now make up the lexicon of most Internet users.
A growing debate has been brewing over the last decade, pitting language teachers against linguistics gurus on the legitimacy of webspeak and whether it is destroying the English language. Many middle and secondary English teachers abhor such IM acronyms, while some are just as guilty of using the abbreviated writing style as their students.
"I got an email today from a teacher and it was written totally with [webspeak]," said Wendy Russell, Guide to Presentation Software for About.com. "A teacher! No wonder kids today cannot spell."
In Tennessee, some high school teachers are reporting the appearance of IM lingo on their Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program competency exams used to measure a student’s success against No Child Left Behind standards, said Kirby McBride, an English major from the University of Tennessee at Martin.
The problem, she asserts, could very well be the busy but connected lifestyles many Americans lead.
"Using English correctly but in a shorter, standardized version of the language shows [students] believe they are in a world where things need to be done very quickly," McBride said. "When it comes to being in the real world and college, these types of writing situations can hinder them greatly."
McBride, who admitted she doesn’t use text or IM very often, recently wrote an op/ed piece condemning the use of webspeak for the university newspaper, The Pacer, where she serves as copy editor.
"My concerns for the language are that the younger generations are not getting the right kind of education in English and writing that they need to succeed in life," she said "If they could be shown…there is a certain time to use it and a certain time not, then it could be good for English."
Susana M. Sotillo, associate professor of linguistics at Montclair State University, in New Jersey, said she disagrees with the assertions of McBride and other critics on the grounds that webspeak is simplified English.
For several years, Sotillo has used IM to teach foreign languages to users across the world. After recently completing a manuscript on predicate-argument structure in the lexical verbs used most frequently in IM, Sotillo said she found IM lingo to match English structurally, only simplified and more informal in tone.
“In short, English will survive,” Sotillo said.
Research conducted in 2008 by Kent State University undergrads suggest similar results to Sotillo’s study, although Drs. Pamela Takayoshi and Christina Haas, both associate professors of English at Kent, believe webspeak should be designated its own language.
McBride said she would support that effort since the vernacular is less formal than the English language she is trying to protect; Sotillo, however, takes a different view.
“Someone who tells you that the English language is being corrupted knows very little about linguistics,” Sotillo said.
“Language is always changing! That is the beauty of it.”
